Establishing a High Resolution Framework for Age Determination

在准确的时间框架中锚定事件对于回答关于过去的问题至关重要。放射性碳测年领域的科学发展导致了所谓的“第三次放射性碳革命”。这些新方法使考古学家能够建立比以前更详细和准确的年表，通常是在十年或更短的时间内。这些更准确的年表反过来又使研究人员能够更好地了解史前社会中关键文化发展和转折点的速度和时间。这些发展在修订对欧洲考古学的理解方面起到了关键作用，但在北美，类似的大规模年表构建应用却落后了。在这个项目中，Jennifer Birch博士（佐治亚大学）和Sturt Manning博士（康奈尔大学）将首次为安大略省和纽约州选定的北易洛魁遗址搬迁序列构建高精度放射性碳（14C）年表。所采用的方法包括(a)加速器质谱法（AMS）对42个易洛魁人村庄遗址中选定省份的短寿命有机物质进行定年，(b)对这些日期进行复杂的贝叶斯年代学建模——综合考古、历史和放射性碳信息。该项目将为研究生提供培训，包括在乔治亚大学和康奈尔大学举办的时间模型和易洛魁考古研讨会。这个项目的意义不亚于对北易洛魁考古年表的潜在重新定义。伯奇和曼宁的一项初步研究表明，在北易洛魁的一部分地区，现有的陶瓷年表将时间错位了50-100年。这项工作的重点是在欧洲人与东北地区第一次直接接触之前和之后的几个世纪，这对研究接触前和接触后文化转型的时间和影响具有重要意义。了解个人和社区的生活经验如何与历史的广泛扫描是考古学的一个关键的理论兴趣。这个项目制作的精细化、独立的年表将有助于加深对易洛魁民族和联盟的发展、冲突的时间和方向、欧洲贸易商品的引入，以及这些关键社会变革之间的相互作用的理解。

Anchoring events in accurate chronological timeframes is of the utmost importance in answering questions about the past. Scientific developments in the field of radiocarbon dating have led to what is being called the "third radiocarbon revolution." These new methods permit archaeologists to construct more detailed and accurate chronologies than have previously been possible, often at the decadal scale or less. These more accurate chronologies, in turn, allow researchers to better understand the pace and timing of key cultural developments and turning points in prehistoric societies. These developments have been pivotal in revising understandings of European archaeology, but similar applications to large-scale chronology-building have lagged behind in North America. In this project, Dr. Jennifer Birch (University of Georgia) and Dr. Sturt Manning (Cornell University) will construct for the first time a high-precision radiocarbon (14C) chronology for select Northern Iroquoian site relocation sequences in Ontario and New York State. The methods employed include (a) Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating of short-lived organic material from select proveniences at 42 Iroquoian village sites and (b) sophisticated Bayesian Chronological Modeling of those dates - integrating archaeological, historical and radiocarbon information. The project will provide training for graduate students, including workshops on chronological modelling and Iroquoian archaeology at the University of Georgia and Cornell.The significance of this project represents nothing less than the potential redefinition of the Northern Iroquoian archaeological chronology. A pilot study by Birch and Manning suggested that in one part of Northern Iroquoia, the existing ceramic chronology misplaced sites in time by as many as 50-100 years. This work focusses on the centuries which preceded and followed the first instances of direct European contact in the Northeast and has significant implications for the study of the timing and effects of pre- and post-contact cultural transformations. Understanding how the lived experiences of individuals and communities articulate with the broad sweep of history is a key theoretical interest in archaeology. The refined, independent chronology produced by this project will permit enhanced understanding of the development of Iroquoian nations and confederacies, the timing and directionality of conflict, and the introduction of European trade goods, as well as the interplay between these key societal transformations.